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Close-Up: Be prepared for a new era of ad rules

Shahriar Coupal brings agencies up to speed with the soon-to-be-updated UK Advertising Codes.

"Legal, decent, honest and truthful"; words, I expect, that are on the
tip of every creative's tongue when they're putting their ad campaigns
together. These are, of course, the general principles of the
Advertising Codes - the rules that govern all UK ads. Significantly, in
a little under a week, on 1 September, the new UK Advertising Codes come
into effect and it is crucial that agencies are up to speed with the new
requirements.

Getting to grips with the Advertising Codes might be one of the less
glamorous aspects of the job, but it is important to your business.
Reporting back to your client that your creative approach has prompted a
public backlash, negative publicity and resulted in your ad being banned
is, I imagine, less than ideal.

Advertising Standards Authority investigations are inconvenient and can
be costly in terms of time, money and reputational damage. Imagine the
worst-case scenario - which we know happens - that you actually lose an
account because you didn't know the rules. Knowledge and understanding
of the Codes can help you avoid this.

Without wanting to sound trite, another reason we recommend agencies get
up to speed with the Advertising Codes is the simple fact that complying
with the rules is good for the advertising industry in general. If
consumers trust the ads, they see it's good for business.

From a purely functional perspective, the Advertising Codes are now more
user-friendly. For example, we have created a single broadcast Code (the
BCAP Code) for TV and radio in place of the existing four Codes. The new
format, with key sections now containing an overarching principle and a
simple, clean set of rules, means they will be easier to interpret and
navigate. This should help improve understanding of the rules.

When assessing whether to tighten, relax or discard existing
restrictions, the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast
Committee of Advertising Practice operated from the standpoint that the
majority of the rules already work well. However, while we have retained
the enduring principles that ads should not contain anything that is
likely to be misleading, harmful or offensive, we have strengthened - as
necessary - the consumer protections that lie at the heart of the
Codes.

Perhaps most importantly, we have, for the first time, introduced an
overarching social responsibility clause in the BCAP Code. This rule has
already applied across non-broadcast media for many years and it helps
to ensure that all ads are responsible to consumers and to society in
general.

On that note, the most significant changes to the Codes are the enhanced
protections surrounding children. For instance, we have created a new
scheduling rule for TV and radio to keep ads for computer or console
games carrying an 18+, 16+ or 15+ rating away from children's
programming. Also, strengthened data protection rules for children,
preventing marketers from collecting data from under-12s without
parental consent, and from under-16s about other people, are other
examples of where rules are being tightened in this area.

With the proliferation of environmental claims in ads and subsequent
complaints to the ASA about "greenwash", it seemed sensible to create a
dedicated environmental section in the BCAP Code. The aim of this is to
give advertisers more clarity on what is likely to be acceptable when
promoting the green credentials of a product or service; such as not
suggesting that environmental claims are universally accepted if a
significant division of informed or scientific opinion exists. It also
aligns the BCAP Code with the non-broadcast rules, ensuring greater
consistency between the two.

Wherever possible, the Codes now share many of the same rules in key
areas such as misleading advertising, harm and offence.

But it's not just about rules that have been added to the Codes, it's
also about those that have been taken away. Various rules have been
relaxed or removed, giving greater scope for agencies to pursue new
creative routes. For instance, though obvious care will be needed on
taste and decency grounds, the relaxation of the 9pm scheduling
restriction on condom advertising means ads can now appear throughout
the day as long as they are sensitively scheduled and kept away from
younger viewers. On another health-related theme, the ban on endorsement
by healthcare professionals in TV and radio ads has been lifted - but
new rules will still ensure that their use in ads is responsible and
doesn't mislead.

Although making things simpler has been our major objective, help is at
hand to guide you through it all. CAP Services provides a range of
compliance tools including training events and online resources to help
you understand the requirements of the Advertising Codes. Our Copy
Advice team additionally provides a free, confidential and expert
service for non-broadcast ads and they've been busy updating our fully
searchable online database of guidance to bring it in line with the new
Codes.

CAP and BCAP are committed to ensuring that advertising is not brought
into disrepute. We write the rules, not to make advertisers and
agencies' lives difficult, but to demonstrate businesses' commitment to
advertising responsibly and, in doing so, protecting advertising
freedoms. By upholding these standards, agencies play an important role
in achieving this. The new rules are days away. If in doubt, give us a
shout.

- Shahriar Coupal is the secretary of the Committee of Advertising
Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice.

A QUICK GUIDE TO THE NEW ADVERTISING CODES

How to avoid falling foul of the new rules at the first hurdle:

- Build the use of Copy Advice into your planning; don't wait until the
last minute.

- Be mindful of the fact that the Codes now contain clarification on the
use of the word "free".

- Do not mislead consumers about prizes and gifts. The sales promotion
rules oblige marketers to be clear about the number and nature of
prizes, including those that are available to win and those that are
guaranteed to be won.

- If you are advertising a computer or console game carrying an 18+, 16+
or 15+ rating, then you will not be able to show it around programmes
made for, or likely to appeal particularly to, children.

- Be aware of the closer consistency between the Codes. For instance,
the non-broadcast Code contains a new rule on photo-sensitive epilepsy
to protect people who might be harmed by flashing images (in keeping
with the rule for TV).

- If you are looking to make a claim about the health benefit of a food
or drink product, you'll need to be aware of new rules that reflect the
provisions of the Nutritional and Health Claims Made on Foods
Regulations.

- Do make sure you follow ASA adjudications. In the following months,
the ASA will begin to publish rulings under the new Codes - setting
potentially new benchmarks for entire sectors. So, make sure you keep up
to speed.

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